Angela Merkel, KT zu Guttenberg and Germany’s Unseen Crisis

The following is from yesterday’s Trumpet Brief. These daily e-mails contain personal messages from the Trumpet staff. Click here to join the nearly 20,000 members of our mailing list, so you don’t miss another message!

“Germany’s Boring Politics Are a Sign of Rare Strength.” That was the title of a Bloomberg article published yesterday. I see articles like this all the time—articles highlighting the fact that Germany is a rare example of strength, stability and unity.

The truth is, German stability is an illusion.

Right now a massive crisis is brewing in Deutschland. The German people are undergoing a radical transformation. The attitude and mentality of the German public are changing. Worse still, Germany’s mainstream leaders, including Angela Merkel, fail to see the significance of this change or the disturbing ramifications it could have on Germany and Europe. The change now occurring in the German people will culminate in the formation of the prophesied seventh and final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire!

We’ve written about this transformation here and here, and talked about it here. And this week, more evidence surfaced proving something is afoot. Stephan Grünewald is a psychologist who has spent much of his career studying the German people. Grünewald heads the Rheingold Institute in Cologne, which recently conducted a survey exploring how the German people feel about the upcoming election (the “boring” election).

“On a fundamental level, [German] voters are totally disappointed in this election campaign,” Grünewald told Der Spiegel. “They feel like the things that are important to them aren’t being discussed, and that many are being glossed over” (emphasis added throughout).

The survey found that Germany’s mainstream leaders are almost totally ignoring the subject that the German people most care about. “In the in-depth interviews, all people wanted to talk about was the refugee crisis, refugee crisis, refugee crisis. Despite being so elegantly left out of the campaign, it is still a sore spot that hasn’t been treated by politicians.”

Even while lagging far behind incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel, challenger Martin Schultz declined to make an issue of the refugee crisis until less than two months were left in the campaign. When he finally did, it was apathetic and short-lived. Chancellor Merkel has made token remarks about the refugee crisis, but has also done little to seriously address the concerns of her people.

“The [refugee] crisis two years ago plunged voters into a dilemma for which they still haven’t found a clear response,” explained Grünewald. Germans are asking, “Do I open the door, or do I close it? On one hand, they want to be part of the welcoming culture, but they are also afraid of being overwhelmed by foreigners and of no longer being able to recognize their own country. As a result, they want policymakers to develop a plan, to establish a compromise position. But they haven’t, and now voters feel abandoned.”

Since at least 2015, Germany has been developing an identity crisis.

A huge part of the problem is poor leadership. The German public wants to talk about the refugees and about Islam and about how Germany can address the various threats. But Germany’s incumbent leaders simply refuse to acknowledge the subject in any meaningful way. Some refuse to even admit mistakes have been made. During a recent interview with Welt am Sonntag, Chancellor Merkel reflected on the way she handled the 2015 refugee crisis and actually stated: “I’d make all the important decisions the same way again.”

Can you believe that? There is a lot to admire about Angela Merkel, but when it comes to the refugee issue, the chancellor is totally—and dangerously—out of touch with the German public. The consequences of such ignorance are alarming. “Voters are disoriented, full of uncertainties,” warned Grünewald. “They describe Germany either as an ailing, rundown country or as a secure island of affluence in a sea of risk. It’s all very fragile and leads to emotional outbursts. I have never before seen so much anger and hatred among test subjects.”

“It’s all very fragile.”

“I have never before seen so much anger and hatred ….”

Germany only appears stable and content. The German people are far more upset and confused and frustrated than reported by the mainstream media and realized by Germany’s mainstream politicians.

This ought to alarm more people, yet no one is really talking about it.

This survey shows that there is a growing need in Germany for someone to come along and really address the refugee issue and the deeper identity crisis that has set in. The German people increasingly want a leader who is willing to talk openly and honestly about the refugees, a leader prepared to recognize the concerns of the German people, and a leader capable of helping Germans resolve their inner moral crisis.

Last week, I spoke with Martin Neumeyer, a Christian Social Union politician and the district counselor for the Bavarian region of Landkreis Kelheim. We discussed his colleague KT zu Guttenberg. I asked Mr. Neumeyer what makes KT different from other politicians. His answer was interesting—especially in light of the moral dilemma many Germans are experiencing.

“KT zu Guttenberg is both liberal and conservative,” stated Neumeyer.

Mr. Neumeyer explained that the German people are worried about the impact the refugees will have on German society and culture (as well as its economy and politics). He also explained that most Germans also want an “open Germany”—a tolerant, sympathetic Germany. This is the identity crisis. The average German wants to be liberal and tolerant, wants to be welcoming, wants to be multicultural. But he is also experiencing a growing urge to defend Germany’s heritage, Germany’s institutions, Germany’s economy and Germany’s culture.

Neither Angela Merkel nor Martin Schultz is doing anything to help the average German reconcile this inner conflict. So the frustration and anger grow.

The more we see him speak, the more it seems KT zu Guttenberg could be the ideal candidate to heal Germany’s conflicted soul. KT is not afraid to talk about the refugees, Islam and Germany’s Christian heritage. He talks about this issue in his own unique way. He’s open and honest, patriotic and forceful—but not too open, and not too patriotic or forceful. He is unlike Merkel and Schultz, both of whom are soft, compromising and timid on the refugee issue. Yet he is also unlike far-right leaders, who are brash, hateful and intolerant.

During his speech in Kulmbach last week, Guttenberg stated: “We need to have a debate about a guiding culture in this country.” He spoke openly about Germany’s heritage and told the audience that German culture is underpinned by Christian, Jewish and Western values that need to be protected. “Everyone who comes here needs to take it personally and accept our culture, our laws, our language,” he said.

The subject of the refugees was also a key theme in Guttenberg’s dynamic 90-minute speech at the Gillamoos festival yesterday (more on this later this week, hopefully). Guttenberg addressed the subject of Islam and Islamic refugees openly and candidly, and he spoke at length and unashamedly about the need to preserve Germany’s Christian culture and heritage. Yet he maintained enough of a tone of respect and sensitivity to avoid sounding like a far-right candidate.

This is part of Guttenberg’s appeal: The average German can embrace KT zu Guttenberg without feeling like he’s supporting a far-right party or a Nazi!

In the opening chapter of A Strong German Leader Is Imminent (free upon request), Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry writes: “A strong German leader is imminent! When he comes to power, this world will be shocked as it has never been shocked before. Yet if you look at the whole vision, it is tied to the return of Jesus Christ to this Earth. That may be hard for some people to believe, but it is clearly prophesied in your Bible! It is actually mentioned in about a hundred biblical prophecies.”

If you haven’t read this book, request it right now. This book puts the whole 2017 German election in perspective, and will give meaning and direction to our news watching.

A few paragraphs later, Mr. Flurry warns: “Routinely in German history, when Germans become anxious about world events, they call on a strongman to lead them! They have done so throughout history—and they are going to do it again.”

That forecast is being filled right now. Germans today are incredibly anxious about world events, and events inside their own nation. Bible prophecies in Daniel 8 and 11, Habakkuk 1, Revelation 13 and 17, and elsewhere reveal that Germany will get its strongman. Germany’s identity crisis will intensify and eventually, perhaps very soon, precipitate a crisis that will result in a strong leader coming on the scene to rescue the nation.